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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102447">The Explanation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/things_that_matter/pseuds/things_that_matter'>things_that_matter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>CMBYN: Life with Ollie [57]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types, Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brothers, Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, M/M, Parenthood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:14:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/things_that_matter/pseuds/things_that_matter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ollie is having a friend over, and the friend is confused about their family dynamic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oliver/Elio Perlman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>CMBYN: Life with Ollie [57]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Explanation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt by: New girl in the fandom</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Should we watch Locke &amp; Key or Supernatural?” Ollie wanted to know as he eagerly browsed Netflix. </p><p>“Hmmmm,” said Oliver thoughtfully. “Why not just ask your friend what he wants to watch?” </p><p>But this was followed by Elio’s immediate reaction of, “Neither. Too scary and too scary.” </p><p>Ollie facepalmed. “Not if we watch that one episode where…” </p><p>“No,” Elio interrupted. “Maybe in a couple of years.”   </p><p>Ollie looked pleadingly toward Oliver but he just shrugged as if he weren’t the boss. This irritated Ollie, too, because Elio would do anything Oliver wanted. </p><p>“I’m almost eight!” he huffed with his hands on his hips. </p><p>Elio pretended to count on his fingers. “Right, so ask again when you’re ten,” Elio remarked. Ollie rolled his eyes gloriously, but Elio had already stuck his nose back into his book, so he didn’t see it. He wouldn’t have cared anyway. He wasn’t as serious about eye rolling as Oliver was. </p><p>Almost as if Oliver could sense Ollie’s sassy thoughts, he suddenly decided to get involved. “And stop with the ‘almost eight’ business. You’re staying seven forever.” </p><p>Ollie pursed his lips together, his cheeks filled with air, eyes squinting. His face looked like a balloon, and Oliver could almost see him darting through the air this way and that the next time he opened his mouth. </p><p>But Ollie was so excited, he just couldn’t stay mad very long. “It, then?” he asked. </p><p>Oliver and Elio wore twin expressions of confusion. </p><p>“It, then, who, what?” Elio asked, only partly teasing. He had no idea what Ollie meant. </p><p>Ollie pointed to the screen. “It. The movie. It’s about a clown, so it’s basically a kid movie.”</p><p>“No way,” Elio said, turning back to his book. Such a ludicrous request was hardly worth his time answering. </p><p>Ollie looked to Oliver then, who also shook his head, with more conviction than before. “That’s a really scary movie.”</p><p>Ollie sighed and continued scrolling. </p><p>After a few more minutes of not finding anything, Ollie grew frustrated, which meant a lot of sighing, gasping, groaning, and tossing himself back against the sofa cushions. Elio and Oliver eyed each other over their respective books, Oliver was doing some research, but neither of them seemed to want to say anything more. Eventually it was Elio who reached the end of his patience. It usually was. Oliver was more likely to take action when Ollie was misbehaving, but Elio was much more likely to think Ollie was misbehaving to begin with.</p><p>“Ollie, who said you could even watch a movie when your friend is here?” Elio asked. </p><p>Ollie’s eyes went round. “I hate you, Elio!” he complained. </p><p>Oliver set his book down then, and Ollie knew he’d gone too far. The thing about going too far, Ollie was figuring out, was that you didn’t know you were doing it until it was too late. Ollie was pretty sure that’s how it got its name, <em> too far.</em></p><p>“I’m sorry,” he tried, but Oliver was walking right toward him anyway. “I love you, Elio,” he called out sweetly, then looked at Oliver to see if his strategy was successful. He thought Oliver’s face may have softened a bit, but he was now holding his hand out, and Ollie knew he was supposed to take it. “I love you?” he offered, but he raised the pitch of his voice as if it were a question. When that didn’t seem to have any effect, Ollie crossed his arms. No way was he going to willingly take Oliver’s hand just to be taken to his room and scolded or lectured against his will. Oliver didn’t care though, he just placed his fingertips on Ollie’s head, gently, and steered him to his room. </p><p>Elio didn’t even bother to join them, and this irritated Ollie, too. If Elio didn’t care about Ollie’s unkind words, why did Oliver? And this is what Ollie asked Oliver as soon as the door was closed. Oliver sat on Ollie’s loveseat, the one where they sometimes read at night, and pulled Ollie onto his lap. </p><p>“I think that’s the difference in being a brother and a parent,” Oliver explained. Ollie remained unconvinced, so Oliver continued. “I had siblings, too, so I understand. But I am not your sibling, and I don’t want you to be mean like that.” </p><p>Ollie gave an incredibly long and deep sigh, and leaned against Oliver’s chest, examining Oliver’s collar. “Sorry,” he finally mumbled. “But Elio says that to me, all the time!” </p><p>“He does?” </p><p>Ollie nodded.</p><p>“Elio told you he hated you? When?” </p><p>Ollie shrugged. “Well, not exactly those words.” </p><p>“What words?” Oliver asked. </p><p>Ollie thought and thought. Finally he said, “Well sometimes he says mean things but I can’t remember one.” </p><p>Oliver put his arms around Ollie and squeezed him tightly, making the little boy laugh. </p><p>“Are you going to behave?” </p><p>Ollie poked his lip out, but nodded. </p><p>“Okay. You need to be nicer when we go back out because when you act like this, it makes me think you’re tired and might need a nap,” Oliver explained, setting Ollie gently on his feet and standing up himself. </p><p>When they got back into the living room, Ollie didn’t feel like being nicer. Fortunately, Elio was still reading his book, so Ollie didn’t have to be actively nice, he only had to be <em>not mean. </em>That was much easier. </p><p>Ollie was having a friend over to spend the night the following night, and he had been very excited about it. Elio and Oliver had been so helpful and encouraging. Ollie knew he was very lucky, because Oliver had cleaned the entire house, and even helped him clean his bedroom. And Elio had taken him shopping and let him pick out whatever junk food he wanted for himself and his friend. Elio even bought him a King Size set of Avengers bed sheets, just in case his friend wanted to make a fort. Oliver had gone over all the rules for having guests… twice. The only thing still left was to choose a movie. Ollie was pretty sure Elio had only been kidding about not letting them watch anything. That would just be plain mean. </p><p> </p><p>On Friday morning, Elio was dreaming that he was floating in a raft boat on the ocean. The water was rough, and he was being tossed about in the little raft. He was growing more worried. The sky kept getting darker, the water kept getting rougher, and finally he sat up with a scream. Ollie looked startled, standing in the middle of Elio and Oliver’s bed. He’d only been bouncing a little to wake his brother. Elio was too sleepy to get onto him, fortunately. Instead, he just grabbed Ollie and lay back down, pulling Ollie with him. Elio fell back to sleep immediately, but Ollie couldn’t. He was too excited about his friend coming over. But the alarm would go off in a few minutes, and Ollie thought he could wait quietly so Elio wouldn’t be grouchy when he got up. Ollie lay his head down on Elio’s pillow, right beside his brother’s head, and closed his eyes, counting silently for nearly ten minutes until Elio’s alarm finally started its incessant beeping. </p><p> </p><p>Elio was not a morning person, but on this morning he was laughing from the minute his alarm went off until he saw Ollie climb onto the bus. He’d rarely seen his little brother so excited as he was today about having company coming. Ollie had run around the house chattering so excitedly, Elio wasn’t sure in the end if he’d followed the morning routine and remembered his homework and lunch. Every time Elio would ask, Ollie would answer so quickly and with such an excess of words, Elio couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying. </p><p>Finally he watched hurricane Ollie load the bus, turning to yell at him over his shoulder, “Don’t forget Matt is riding the bus with me this afternoon!!!” </p><p>“I know!” Elio yelled back, waving. </p><p>“Tell Oliver, too!!” Ollie yelled.</p><p>“We both know! Have a good day!” </p><p> </p><p>That afternoon, Oliver couldn’t wait for the bus. He felt like a child, himself. He and Elio had done everything in their power to make sure it was a positive experience for Ollie and his friend. But you just never know how things will go. There was a small amount of anxiety roiling around in Oliver’s stomach. It embarrassed him how often he checked the window for signs of the bus. It ended up arriving five minutes late, which felt to Oliver like at least fifteen, but eventually the bus’s squealing brakes alerted Oliver of its arrival, and he went to the porch to watch the bus unload. Ollie was always the last one off the bus, so Oliver had to watch the other neighborhood kids unload first. He felt even more anxious. What if Matt didn’t come? What if he’d gotten sick? What if he forgot his note to ride the bus with Ollie? If anything went wrong, it would devastate Ollie. But it wasn’t long until he saw Ollie’s beaming face, along with the rest of him, climbing down the stairs. And right behind him, it could only be his friend, Matt. </p><p>Oliver liked Matt right away. He was a lot like Ollie. Very smart. A little eccentric. Perhaps a bit immature, but in a good way. Oliver loved that Ollie was a seven-year-old who actually acted like a seven-year-old little boy instead of a twelve-year-old. This, Oliver thought, was the reason Ollie was having difficulty finding friends, but Oliver wouldn’t change Ollie. He only hoped that Matt might be someone who could appreciate Ollie and his special brand of quirkiness. </p><p>They had a splendid afternoon. Oliver let the boys plant some things in the garden. They did more playing than planting, and Oliver was glad for that. Oliver noticed Matt didn’t seem to need toys to have fun, just like Ollie didn’t. They played forever in the garden, a rock would become a car, a stick could fill in for a person. </p><p>After they’d been playing out for quite a long time, Oliver took out some popsicles for them. “You boys look hot,” he said as he handed them each one. They did look hot. Their faces were red, their hair was damp and clinging to their foreheads. “Do you want to come in and do some inside things?” Ollie seemed appalled at this idea. </p><p>So Oliver left and returned a few minutes later, carrying something. Both boys ran over to see what it was. </p><p>“Isn’t that the ‘<em>water the garden’ </em>thing?” Ollie asked. </p><p>“It is. Will you go get the water hose for me, please?” </p><p>Ollie looked hesitant, but Matt ran over and asked where the hose was. “I’ll show you,” Ollie said, and off the two ran. Oliver decided he did like Matt quite a lot. </p><p>Oliver hooked the hose up to the sprinkler, as he often did, but this time he set it up in the middle of the yard instead of in the garden. “There!” Oliver sounded pleased with himself. “Go change into play clothes or your swimsuit, and find Matt something he can get wet in, too.” The boys looked at each other, wide eyed and eager. As they ran toward the house, Oliver heard Matt saying to Ollie, “Your brother is so cool!” </p><p>“He’s not my brother. He’s Oliver. He’s like my dad kinda!” and the door slammed, leaving Oliver standing in the middle of the yard feeling like he’d finally made it to the Emerald City, and the wizard had agreed to grant his dearest and most private wish. </p><p>Before long, Elio arrived home. He, too, was very excited to finally meet Ollie’s new friend. Introductions were made, but Elio thought Matt seemed a little reserved. He had already talked to Oliver, who had gone on about how great Matt was, so Elio was surprised by how quiet he was, and how little he had to say. After Ollie finished introducing them, the boys went back to play in Ollie’s room. “Dinner in half an hour,” Oliver called after them. </p><p>Elio and Oliver looked at each other then, their faces a mixture of curiosity and concern. “What was that about?” Elio asked. </p><p>“What was what about?” Oliver asked. </p><p>“He seemed kind of, I don’t know, almost scared of me?” Elio explained. None of Ollie’s friends had ever been afraid of him before. Oliver maybe, but never him. </p><p>“Oh, they are probably just tired,” Oliver said, hugging Elio. </p><p>Elio hugged him back, but he broke the hug sooner than usual, and tiptoed down the hall.</p><p>“What are you…” Oliver began, but Elio turned and put a finger to his own lips… shhhhhh. </p><p>Soon Oliver knew what Elio was up to, because he saw Elio pressing his ear to Ollie’s door. </p><p>“Elio…” Oliver playfully chastised, but Elio didn’t look in the mood to play. Instead, he was waving urgently for Oliver to join him. Oliver didn’t like the idea, but to appease Elio, he snuck down the hallway and pressed his ear to the door, too.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“So, the one with darker hair is your brother?” Matt was asking. </p><p>“Yeah, the one who looks like me,” Ollie answered casually. </p><p>“Is he nice?” Matt asked. </p><p>“Yeah, he’s really nice.” </p><p>“But he’s an adult?” Matt asked. </p><p>“Yes, because he’s a lot older than me,” Ollie explained patiently. Oliver and Elio smiled at each other because of Ollie’s cute, simple explanation. </p><p>“I would hate to live with just my brother. He is so bossy and mean. Is your brother not bossy?” </p><p>“A little,” Ollie said, and they laughed. In the hallway, Elio’s eyes narrowed and his eyebrows pulled together. Oliver mouthed the word “bossypants” making Elio’s mouth open wider in protest. </p><p>“And so the tall one is Oliver?” Matt asked next. Ollie must have nodded. They couldn’t hear anything from Ollie before Matt continued, “But he’s not your dad? Or your brother?” </p><p>“No,” Ollie explained. “He’s kind of like my dad. But he’s not really.” </p><p>There was a prolonged silence before Matt spoke again, “But why?”</p><p>Elio placed his hand on the doorknob. He didn’t like his little brother being questioned like this, but Oliver placed his hand over Elio’s and shook his head. <em> No, don’t. Let’s give Ollie a chance. If he needs us, we’ll go in, </em>Oliver’s eyes said. Elio nodded, reluctantly. </p><p>“Why what?” Ollie asked. </p><p>“Why do your brother and Oliver live together? Are they roommates?” </p><p>“Yes,” Ollie said simply. He didn’t sound upset, but Elio was growing more anxious by the second. Oliver just kept his hand over Elio’s. He placed his mouth near Elio’s ear and whispered very quietly, almost mouthed it, “He’s going to have to answer these questions.” </p><p>“Where does Oliver sleep? There’s only two bedrooms?” Matt was asking now. </p><p>“I sleep in my room, and they sleep in their room,” Ollie said. Another long silence ensued. Oliver thought they might be playing a game while they chatted. Ollie had mentioned that Matt liked chess, too.  </p><p>“So they sleep together in the same bed?” </p><p>Ollie must have nodded. </p><p>“Why?” Matt asked. </p><p>“Because they love each other. Sometimes girls love boys and boys love girls. But sometimes girls love girls and boys love boys. It doesn’t matter. Love is love,” Ollie said, sounding calm and cool. Elio and Oliver smiled at one another. Elio’s smile was one of pride and relief. Oliver’s was, too, but with just a pinch of, <em> see, I told you.  </em></p><p>“Do you like boys?” Matt asked. </p><p>“No. Not like that,” Ollie answered. “Do you?” </p><p>“No. Not like that,” Matt answered. “Do you like girls?” </p><p>“No. Not like that,” Ollie answered. </p><p>“Me neither,” Matt said. </p><p>Oliver knew then that he could let go of Elio’s hand. He did, and then they snuck down the hallway back to the living room where they sat side by side, Elio leaning into Oliver. Oliver’s arms around Elio. Oliver kissed Elio playfully on the cheek. “He’s going to be just fine, I think.” </p><p>Elio turned his head a bit, so that Oliver could kiss him on the lips, which he happily obliged. With a smile, Elio agreed. “I think you’re right.”</p><p>
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